The Numbness of Scatan
The Numbness of Scatan (しびれのスカタン Shibire no Sukatan) was a gag work credited to Fujio Akatsuka and Kunio Nagatani on behalf of Fujio Pro. It was serialized in Shonen Gahosha's Shonen Picture Report through the years of 1965 to 1968. Overview The human boy Ken Iwate becomes a target of ridicule for other kids in the neighborhood, but after meeting the alien Scatan, the two become fast friends. Ken will rely greatly on Scatan's "Numbness" rays to resolve whatever problems may arise, whether from a trio lead by his rival Geso Boss or from other sources and events. The series was officially billed as a collaboration between Akatsuka and Nagatani, however, it is said that only Scatan was wholly designed by Akatsuka and that only the first chapter of the series bears his touch, with any further input being rare. His involvement only went as far as the initial series and character settings, while the rest of the writing and art were the responsibility of Nagatani, leading to it being considered more of his work even if it's also still officially considered a Fujio Pro series altogether. This matter lead to some controversy in it being included in the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set, as Nagatani had wanted royalties from it and his TV Magazine run of The Genius Bakabon, due to being works authored by him. Unfortunately, owing to the issue with racial depictions in some other Akatsuka works of this time, the series is also notable and rather controversial for containing examples of blackface and human-eating tendency when showing two chapters involving an African child and her father that have come to Japan. The situation itself is resolved in an unfortunate manner itself, with the children putting the two into a packing box to mail them back to their country. Over the course of the series, the style changes to become more super-deformed and less stiff when it concerns Scatan's design. Characters like Memeko also become less utilized in the group of kids, while others like Hechako are introduced to be foils for Scatan. Characters There is not a usual presence of Akatsuka's Star System in the title, with it mostly being confined to its own kind of setting. However, Kunio Nagatani's caricature does appear as Ken's father, as well as a cop and as himself. Iyami is once shown to have a surprise guest cameo in another chapter, until Scatan hits him with a rock to stop his obnoxious singing. Chibita and Jajako are also shown on a one-time basis in a crowd scene. The characters can be said to have design elements of others previously seen from both Akatsuka and Nagatani's output in Fujio Pro. Ken Iwate (岩手ケン Iwate Ken) A simple, kind young boy hailing from Iwate Prefecture. As the way of saying such in Japanese is "iwate-ken" (岩手県), he confuses other children when giving similar sounding answers when they ask his name and where he's from, leading to some mockery as well. He and Scatan bond over being considered outcasts and weird among others. Ken notably resembles a chubbier, pig-nosed version of Osomatsu, but with a single bucktooth and some elements lending to him being a prototypical Bakabon figure. When startled, he'll strike a "Sheeh!" pose, but that comes to be associated with his own cry of "Hweeh!". Dora (ドラ) Ken's cat, who bears an eyepatch-like marking over his right eye. He can accompany Ken where he may go, and is the first to encounter signs of alien life when he runs into Bom Bom. Ken's Parents A Nagatani-esque father and a small mother are seen to be Ken's simple, loving family who often remain off in their own sections of the plot unless required to do anything more. Scatan (スカタン) A Martian that was born in the "Kansai region of Mars", justifying why he speaks in the Kansai dialect. When angered, he will use his numbing electric shocks on those responsible. He and Ken first meet after their pets encounter each other, and Ken is introduced to his family. Scatan's other powers and unusual Martian manifestations can cause further excitement and chaos in town, if something more is needed than his "Numbness". Many citizens of his home planet look similar to him, if not identical, and one such identical cousin known as Ahondara shows up once to cause trouble in town. Prior to the Scatan series, similar types of alien design could be seen used at times in series like Osomatsu-kun, minus such antennae. An rubbery alien known as Nobiru-kun with a near-identical design also appeared in Nonsensical NO.1. Scatan himself would also show up in places outside this series, particularly if Nagatani was involved in such works. Bom Bom (ボンボン) Scatan's Martian dog. He and Dora get into a brief fight that ends in Bom Bom chomping on Dora's tail and electrocuting him, scaring him off. Scatan's Parents A pair of much similar yet older aliens who had moved to Earth and live as neighbors to the Iwate family. Scatan's mother is shown to have curly hair to conceal her antennae, while his father's are exposed. Memeko (メメ子) The lead girl of the series, who comes to be a girlfriend-type figure to Ken. She is shown to stand up against Shariko and not have much time for the gang of troublemakers at the start of the series, being reasonable and kind to Ken when he is bothered by them. As the series goes on, Memeko is seen less as Ken and Scatan often go off on their own, or are entangled more with Geso Boss and his henchmen on adventures. Geso Boss (ゲソ親分 Geso Oyabun) The rough, bully figure of the title. He orders and pushes Shariko and Sonota around, often quite dealing out quite the physical beatings. He has feelings for Memeko as well, but she is disgusted by his arrogant and brutal nature. Later on, Geso Boss and the other two are often seen more as friends or 'frenemy' types to Ken, adventuring and hanging around with him and Scatan. Shariko (シャリ公) A lackey of Geso, often concealing his bare head beneath his baseball cap. He can be the punching bag-type of lackey, if Sonota doesn't do anything to earn the ire. His bald head can also be useful for hiding objects atop of under his hat, notably wasabi. However, a gag can result from such with his plans to use it backfiring if it so happens to slide into his mouth. As the art evolution of the series goes on, Shariko can be seen to gain some hair beneath his cap. Sonota (その太) A strange, small young boy with swirls for eyes and a triangular nose. He is shown to be another lackey of Geso, and is beat up by both him and Shariko for his failings or is generally pushed around by the other kids due to his small size and annoying way. He is the first to experience Scatan's "numbing" as punishment in the fight against Ken. Sonota can also be shown to hang his large tongue out, adding to his simpleton impression among the trio. Sonota would seem to have been a favorite of Nagatani, as he often slipped outside of the Scatan series to cameo in any other Fujio Pro works he had involvement in (as had Scatan). Hechako (ヘチャ子) A girl Martian that shows up later, differentiated from Scatan by the presence of long black hair. She is a childhood friend of Scatan that declares herself to be his wife, to his repulsion. She is ruthless in her pranking and cruelty, giving Ken and the others a terrible time along with anyone she sees as being in the way of Scatan. Though she and Scatan can also get into their own fights and zapping matches when possible. Serialization * Shonen Picture Report: April 1965-September 1968 Reprints * Akebono: 3 volume collection. Chapters are either missing or some are mixed out of order compared to when they were originally serialized, leading to various discrepancies with art style and evolution and where some character appearances are concerned. * Shogakukan: The Akebono volumes were digitized as part of the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set in 2002, along with a print-on-demand release courtesy of ComicPark. However, due to an inferior copy of volume 2 used for scanning, there is some visible damage on page 25 with a "damaged page" caption emphasizing that. Media Sonosheet A sonosheet adaptation of the series was produced in 1965 via Kodama Press' album division. Scatan's voice was provided by Yoshiko Yamamoto (later known as the actress who'd voice Sazae-san's sister Wakame), while Ken was voiced by the child actor Teruo Nakayama. The lyrics to the songs on the album were written by both Akatsuka and Nagatani, while Nagatani was responsible for the artwork in the read-along story. External Links Category:Manga Category:1960s works Category:Gag works Category:Works serialized in Shonen Picture Report Category:Other Authors' Works